Under new guidelines for magistrates, fines for motorists caught doing 51mph in a 30mph zone or 101mph on a motorway will start from 150 per cent of their weekly income, rather than the previous level of 100 per cent.

AA president Edmund King described the changes as "an effective way to penalise offenders".

The Sentencing Council said the move aims to ensure there is a "clear increase in fine level as the seriousness of offending increases".

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The number of full-time dedicated roads policing officers in England and Wales (excluding London) fell by 27 per cent between 2010 and 2015.

Mr Gooding said: "While we broadly support linking the amount of the penalty with income, the cap on the level of fines means that this link is broken for high-income drivers - hardly a level playing field.

"For speeding penalties to be effective three things have to be true: they have to be severe enough to hurt, motorists need to know what they are and believe there is a realistic prospect of being caught if they go too fast.

"We worry that other pressures on police time will seriously undermine the effectiveness of this stiffening of sanctions."

Gary Rae, campaigns director for road safety charity Brake, said: "Toughening the fines and penalties for speeding is long overdue.

"I hope that magistrates ensure the new sentences are consistently applied."